Port Arthur trustee wants homes to lure teachers

By Michelle Heath

Updated 10:37 am, Friday, October 2, 2015

Photo: Guiseppe Barranco, Photo Editor

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In a plan to keep teachers living in the city, Port Arthur is proposing a plan to build housing for teachers on the lot that formerly housed Franklin Elementary on Thomas Boulevard.
Photo taken Thursday, October 02, 2015
Guiseppe Barranco/The Enterprise less

In a plan to keep teachers living in the city, Port Arthur is proposing a plan to build housing for teachers on the lot that formerly housed Franklin Elementary on Thomas Boulevard.
Photo taken Thursday, ... more

Photo: Guiseppe Barranco, Photo Editor

Port Arthur trustee wants homes to lure teachers

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Pothole-riddled roads and tattered homes in West Port Arthur don't make for a welcoming environment for teachers looking to live where they work.

They end up moving to Mid-County, Lumberton or Beaumont, according to Joseph Guillory II, a Port Arthur ISD trustee.

Guillory and Port Arthur Chamber of Commerce President Bill McCoy separately came up with and pitched several ideas this week with the same goal - revitalizing a former city center in disarray.

Guillory wants to build high-end, affordable homes on empty property owned by the district, where teachers can live close to where they work.

McCoy wants the City of Port Arthur to ask for a business district route designation from the Texas Department of Transportation and address traffic issues at the cloverleaf interchange on Texas 73.

Guillory envisions a gated community of $150,000 homes on Thomas Boulevard, where Franklin Elementary once stood.

Thomas Boulevard runs parallel to Procter Street, which would be within walking distance of the once-thriving downtown.

But there aren't any grocery stores or many restaurants near the proposed location that would make living in the community an attractive opportunity for prospective residents.

This is part of Guillory's plan.

"You let the development happen, I promise you there will be an H-E-B, a Market Basket. ... There will be something on this West End," he said.

Dave Mulcahy, the director of Lamar University's small business development center, said people won't move to West Port Arthur without a major grocery store. They can't move there without nice homes either, he said.

"It's a Catch-22 situation," he said. "There needs to be a big superstore."

Businesses, Mulcahy said, move to places with high population density, while people looking for homes need education, health care and shopping venues.

"You've got to keep trying until you find something that does work," he said. "If housing brings teachers to Port Arthur, go for it. But I would do it sparingly."

McCoy believes a business district route designation for U.S. 69 to Procter Street to Houston Avenue to Texas 87 is the first step in revitalizing Port Arthur.

The designation would add signs to the roadway, signifying the business route, making it easier for visitors to find businesses downtown, McCoy said.

McCoy realizes this would be a first step, but thinks it will lead to potential funding to widen and repair roads.

The business district route designation does not come with state funding, said Sarah Dupre, a TxDOT spokeswoman.

McCoy said the plan is to first get the designation request on the TxDOT agenda then push for funding.

This process, McCoy said, could take a couple of decades. He doesn't expect anything to come to fruition in his lifetime.

When traveling is made easier in Port Arthur, McCoy thinks the businesses will come and potentially fill in some of the empty lots throughout the city.

With hospitals, a police department and school district already in place, Mulcahy thinks improved housing might be the answer to Port Arthur's problems.

He predicts it could take up to 10 years to see an impact.

Guillory's motivation is partly personal. He left Port Arthur in the early 1990s and said he came back in 2010 to a hometown he didn't recognize.

"It really didn't feel like home," he said. "I never wanted for anything. I didn't necessarily live in the best house, but the neighborhood was nice."